Hello there...I'm new. Here's a story for a couple that I think has been underappreciated.

It was a cold November night, and a snowstorm was howling outside the London Institute. Gabriel walked hurriedly from the stables, eager to be inside. It had been an exciting couple of weeks for him, because he was to be wed to Cecily in a month. Unfortunately, she was usually not available, and he missed her terribly. She was usually at some ghastly dress fitting or a wedding related gathering in which he was not allowed. To make matters worse, Will was being an especially large pain in the behind. He had essentially kicked Gabriel out of the Institute on the grounds that he could live in the newly repaired Lightwood Manor, and was being even more protective of his sister than before. As a result, Gabriel did not see his betrothed for weeks at a time. Sighing, he walked through the front steps of the Institute and entered the hallway. Tantalizing aromas were wafting in from the kitchen, and Gabriel realized how hungry he was, and stopped, taking in the sensation.

"Shut the goddamn door, you blockhead!"

A voice ripped into his thoughts, sending him back into the present. He startled, and slammed the door much harder than he expected, startling Will and earning a curse. Will continued to berate him.

"How am I supposed to let you marry my sister in a few weeks if you can't even walk inside without glazing over like you've seen Medusa? With incompetence like that, I would be obliged to send you to - "

"Shut up, Will."

Cecily appeared in the hallway. She was beautiful, as always, but tonight she seemed tired. Her dress was wrinkled slightly, and she seemed more anxious. However, this melted away when she saw Gabriel. Cecily pushed past her brother, and took Gabriel by the hand. All signs of worry and stress seemed to disappear as she chattered at him

"How are you? You look exhausted. Bridget has made supper, and oh - you must be starving. I've missed you. How was the patrol?"

"It was fine, dear."

Cecily pecked him on the cheek and led him to the dining hall. Golden light from witchlights illuminated the hall. The smells from the kitchen were even more tempting and he took a seat next to Cecily. They began small talk, mostly about the plans for the wedding, and Gabriel complaining that he saw Will more than he saw his own fiancee these days. There was laughter and happiness, but Gabriel could not shake a feeling of longing that he had in his heart. He felt that he should be seeing his betrothed, spending as much time as possible with her, not be grasping at precious moments of time, but before he could share his thoughts, the food was served. All thoughts of frustration and unfairness disappeared as the hall began to fill with the other residents of the Institute.

Later that night, Gabriel sat in the library, desperately trying to take his mind of the events of the dinner. It had started so promisingly too. Everyone was happy to be there, and Will had even started to act more tolerable towards him. Then, it all went wrong. Sophie, Tessa, and Cecily had started to talk about the wedding preparations, and Gabriel couldn't contain himself. In a burst of emotion, he asked why he couldn't even see his future wife, and had snapped at the women, resulting in sharp looks from everyone at the table, but the worst was when Cecily's face fell. She had been so excited a minute before, but now she looked so desolate and disappointed that it was unbearable too look at her. He became suddenly embarrassed, and fled the dining room before Will could say something clever about him. Now, he was staring intently at a dull three volume book on the possible uses of everyday objects in battle. He stared at the words and diagrams intently, trying desperately to forget the scene at dinner, but the disappointment on Cecily's face kept appearing in the swirl of words. Suddenly, a sharp knock sounded from the door. Damn. Now someone would appear at the door, chastizing him for his behavior at supper. Instead, of all people, Cecily was at the door, her face sober and resigned. He had thought that she would never want to see him again after her reaction at dinner.

"Look, Gabriel, I need to talk to you. I - "

"If you are going to tell me off about my outburst, I'm already feeling stupid enough."

"Let's talk somewhere more private. I think that people might overhear something from outside, and I'm pretty sure Will had Henry set up recording devices all over the public rooms."

This wasn't good. If Cecily wanted to yell at someone, she would make sure that they were in a small enclosure where the object of her anger could not evade her or run away. It was a scarily effective strategy. Reluctantly, Gabriel followed her down the hallway to her room. He opened the door for her, and at her request, sat on the bed. He watched as Cecily locked the door. Wonderful. Now I won't be able to get away without her knowing. She sat down beside him.

"What is wrong with you? You haven't seen me for two weeks and when you first come through the door you look as distant as the moon? Do you realize that there is a world outside of your own? I know something's wrong. You are usually the calmest person I know, but today you're shouting at women and shoving my brother. What happened?"

"I-I don't know how to begin. I've missed you, Cecy, and I can't help but feel that this whole wedding thing is taking away from us. I saw the look on your face today before you saw me, and you looked exhausted. Are all these bells and baubles worth more than our love?"

"I want our wedding day to be special, Gabriel. I don't want it to be us signing papers in front of the Consul and leaving. This is something I am doing because I love you. I know it's hard without seeing me, and I feel it too! Do you think that you're the only person that feels that there's something wrong with not being able to see your betrothed at least twice a week?"

"Say it again."

"What? You weren't listening? You are an even larger idiot than I thought you were. If I didn't believe that you were the right person, I would - "

"No, I heard everything. Why are you going through this exhausting process again?

"Oh, because I - "

A smile began to form across her face.

"You cheeky devil. Handsome, but still cheeky. Fine. I love you. Happy?"

In response, Gabriel tilted his head down and pressed a kiss to her lips. She melted against him, and kissed back harder. Gabriel had almost forgotten how wonderful it felt to have Cecily by his side, but now this was exhilarating. Cecily kissed him even harder, then turned so that she was straddling him. His heart began to leap in his chest, pounding so hard that he was convinced that the horses outside could hear him. They broke their kiss, and Gabriel gazed at his beloved for what seemed like the first time in years. She was lovely, her pitch black hair coming down in waves, framing her porcelain face. Her cheeks were almost always flushed, and now was no exception. Her eyes, normally a beautiful shade of blue, had become dark with desire. She began to slip her hands under his shirt and he pulled it off.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, blockhead. You really are dense. I think time away from me has made you degenerate these last few weeks."

Gabriel responded by kissing her hard on the neck, relishing the moan that escaped her parted lips. He moved downwards, and finally planted a kiss on one of her breasts. Cecily gasped, and Gabriel took this opportunity to move onto the other one, covering as much skin as he could with his lips. Cecily pushed him away, and began to undo her dress and corset. Her undergarments were quickly discarded, and Gabriel was left staring at her naked body.

She was breathtaking. Her figure was perfect, and made even more alluring by the moonlight filtering through the window, accentuating her curves through light and shadow. She moved swiftly towards him and savagely kissed him once more, pinning him against the headboard of the bed. He felt her firm, round breasts push against his own chest and his trousers felt too tight. As Cecily pressed her body against him, she gasped at the sensation, and removed the rest of his clothing. A moan escaped her lips as he pushed himself inside her.

He felt everything at once and yet was also experiencing everything through a fog. His skin was feverish as her hands roamed across his body and tangled in his hair, and her shapely legs were wrapped tightly around his waist. Gabriel felt that his senses were being pushed past the point of hypersensitivity, and he was overloading. He felt her skin, he heard her gasps, he saw her body, but at the same time it was like a dream. Suddenly Cecily's breathing became ragged and erratic. She adjusted herself on him and her gasps became moans. Gabriel began to feel something in his rise in his abdomen but he held on to it instinctively, trying to push the feeling away. The feeling only rose as Cecily kept pushing against him and an image was burned into his memory. Cecily was straddling him, her naked body seemingly painted by moonlight and outlined in shadow, with her head tilted back and an expression of surprise and pleasure on her beautiful face. She began to cry out, and she pushed her lips against his to cover the noise. Gabriel couldn't take this any longer, and he gasped as he climaxed. Cecily gasped one more time, and reluctantly pulled herself off of Gabriel. His exhausted body was still recovering when a knock sounded on the door. An all too familiar voice spoke through the door.

"Cecy? Cecy? Are you in there? After Lightworm stormed of during dinner, I haven't seen you since. Let me in, cariad."

Cecily's beautiful eyes widened with shock and fear. Gabriel met her gaze with a look of equal despair.

Heaven forbid. I'm a dead man.